Master Tse’s Tàijí Fist 130

Five Bows 五弓 – Part 2

Last time we discovered that the body has Five Bows —身備五弓. Two arms, two legs and one body and that all these parts can Fa Jìn 發勁 – Release Power! To begin with, both arms are relaxed. We can then suddenly straighten them and use them to deliver a punch or palm strike. When we use the fist, we can hit out at many angles and in many directions. We can strike the face, the mid part of the body like the chest, the lower body – like the stomach, or even lower. So it is like shooting arrows because we can shoot them at any angle or direction we want. It all depends on our opponent and what is the most convenient target to hit or which target will cause the most damage and so we will Fa Jìn into the target with the fist or palm. The distance we strike from can also be long or short, it is all based on the situation and how we want to defeat our opponent. When we use the fist to strike, we do not only use the front of the knuckles, we use any part of them and also use the back of the fist and the lower edge of the fist (on the small finger edge). When we use the lower edge of the fist we commonly strike from the top to the bottom. we can also use the upper, index finger edge as well and the lower, small finger edge.

Tàijíquán 太極拳 is circular, like a ball that can be hard, like iron, or soft like a balloon. So if the bows are prepared well, then the arrows we shoot will be powerful and accurate!